I always thought that you have to go to the far corners of the Earth to see whales and dolphins but I was wrong, you can see Bottlenose Dolphins, Northern Minke Whales, Harbour Porpoises, Humpbacked and even Killer Whales (Orca) from our own UK shores.
The Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland has its own resident population of around 130 Bottlenose Dolphins although that may not be the case for much longer owing to the Governments’ plans to permit oil and gas speculative drilling licences. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, with the backing of many experts, are campaigning against it so there is still a little hope.
As one of the best ways to see dolphins and especially whales is to go out on a boat there are a number operating along the Firth. I only use ones signed up to the Dolphin Space Programme as they follow set guidelines to help protect the dolphins.
The Gemini Explorer from Buckie on the south side of the Firth uses an old lifeboat so you feel really safe and for £25 per adult and £18 for a child you get a two and a half-hour trip including a guide from the WDCS and refreshments. It takes a while to get your sea legs and I stagger about as if drunk for the first 20 minutes.
Of course, you are never guaranteed a sighting. Mark and I went out last New Year’s Day and the most exciting thing we saw were the Black Guillemots. It was nice to see the coastline from the sea and I hadn’t seen guillemots in their winter plumage so it was still worth going.
While it’s commonly known that dolphins play in the bow waves of boats what I didn’t know until I came here was that they also come up right along shore. I can assure you there is still nothing that comes close to the feeling I get from an encounter with these wonderful animals.
Over time I’ve come to know the best places to see the dolphins but all to often I will only see the black arches of their backs. The dolphins can, in theory, be seen from any point along the coast and I often spend days at favourite spots.
We use our camper-van, a 1984 Talbot Autosleeper, not just for long trips where it enables us to get to places ready for the first light of the next day but also as a day van. It is also good to stow all my equipment. But, the things that I really appreciate are being able to make cups of tea, get changed out of wet clothes, and most importantly – have a comfortable pee.
The best viewpoints are where the water remains deep right close to shore, such as at the narrow points of the Firth away from industrial areas. North and South Kessock – either side of the A9 Kessock Bridge just to the north of Inverness are known good spots at high tide and there is a WDCS centre at North Kessock as well as tourist information office (both are seasonal).
Chanonry Point is the prime location and is accessed from the A9-Cromarty road at Fortrose and Rosemarkie. The point is a large spit of land with houses, a golf course and two campsites (one either side) that sticks out into the Firth opposite Fort George. This, the narrowest point on the Firth with deep water, acts as a bottleneck. As the tide rises the fish are pushed through here making it a great place for the dolphins to hunt. The dolphins follow the fish and as the tide changes the fish are pushed back through the bottleneck again.
You therefore have the best chance of seeing them for the two hours either side of high tide. Standing on the tip of the point you are can be no more than 20ft from them! As the currents are very strong and the water very deep swimming is prohibited as it would be extremely dangerous. The North Sea is also extremely cold which is why divers wear special dry suits. Fall in during winter and you have just a few minutes to be pulled out if you want to live.
Although you can see them all year round the summer months are often the best. They seem to know that people want to see them and it’s almost as if some days they put on a show. Mark and I often joke that they gather in the morning to draw lots as to who’s turn it is to entertain the tourists today. Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures, possibly as smart as humans (and I would argue sometimes smarter) so nothing would surprise me.
As I like to spend time at Chanonry Point I take the camper-van. As well as having the tea and pee facilities mentioned earlier I often like to cook my own lunch although I do have to confess to the odd fish supper. Once you’ve had a fish supper from the Moray coast you’ll never be happy with fish and chips anywhere else.
It can get cold here at anytime of the year but in winter it often remains below freezing for days, and having a heater on while I have lunch is a bonus. It’s hard not to gloat sitting in the van with a cooked lunch wearing a T-shirt when the people in the car next door have hats, gloves, coats, and scarves on and the screens misting up from the flask of stewed tea. When I want to make a weekend of it I stay on one of the sites on the point where I can walk along the shore to Chanonry Point.
You can never predict a sighting and I’ve sat there from dawn until dusk and only seen seals and few gulls whereas another time I only planned an hour and they arrived within minutes of me getting there. I’m never really disappointed, as it’s a nice place regardless – you have to regard the prospect of seeing dolphins as an added bonus.
It’s not just dolphins though, a Beaked Whale was seen from Chanonry Point just a couple of weeks ago. I have yet to see any whales but I’m looking forward to getting out into the Firth again by boat and hope to see the large Minke Whales. Because of their size they do not usually venture far into the Firth and usually only on the way north. Whales, including Orca (Killer Whales) can be better seen from the northern isles – but that’s another story.
Spey Bay, on the south side of the Firth, is my most frequently visited spot and the WDCS have a wildlife information centre and shop there. The building, once a salmon fishing station, also houses an excellent café. The centre and café are seasonal with more hours in summer. Spey Bay is the point where the river Spey joins the sea. The river is fast flowing at all times and care needs to be taken especially if you have children.
If you fail to see a dolphin for yourself there is an interactive display in the centre with video footage, identification charts, and sounds giving you a close up experience of the dolphins in the firth. You can even ‘adopt a dolphin’ which makes an excellent gift.
I often finish my day at Port Gordon where I can see groups of Grey Seals. To be honest, when you spend a lot of time on the Moray coast you get a bit blasé about seals. When I first came here I thought they were great, still do really, and I still go down in the camper-van for the afternoon just to sit a watch them. It’s a very pleasant and relaxing way to spend a few hours.
The Firth also has common seals that, in spite of their name, aren’t actually common. You can tell the difference because grey seals have roman noses and common seals look like their smiling often being referred to as cute. When you see the bull seals fighting you realise that cute is just their appearance and not necessarily their demeanour.
Using the camper-van can makes me quite lazy though. It’s good for watching from as well as being a base. With the side sliding door open I can actually sit on the sofa, drink tea and watch wildlife at the same time!
The camper-van makes all my wildlife journeys at lot more fun as well as more comfortable and there is so much wildlife to see in the UK that I wonder why people rave on about Africa and big cats all the time.
(Published with photos in Practical Motorhome magazine, 2008)
